Wednesday

"From a young age I was fortunate to travel and be exposed to many different types of people and culture," he says. "Peaceful interactions produced such amazing art, programs and communities that it made conflict between the groups unbearable to me."

This early aversion to cultural conflict is what made him realize his passion for building and maintaining peace, a dedication he has since turned into his life's work.

Early in his career, the Rockford native joined the Peace Corps in Ukraine, where he worked to create Operation Respect Ukraine, "a collaborative effort between the U.S. government, U.S. Peace Corps, Ukrainian and American NGOs (non-governmental organizations), Peace Corps volunteers, and citizens in the U.S. and Ukraine.

"The scale of what we created, a national training program that offered free social and emotional education lessons to all of Ukraine, would not have been possible or done correctly without this partnership. The program, which now trains over 1,000 teachers a year throughout the country at no cost, has given me energy to continue to create projects that promote peace building. Having seen the power of peace-building, I am energetic to continue the work."

Upon his return, Schlehuber helped to create a similar peace-building cooperative in Rockford called Operation Respect Rock River Valley that functioned for two years. Nowadays, his home-base is the District of Columbia, where he curates content for a peace-building music website, FreedomBeat.org, conducts research for former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich and co-manages a Ward 8 City Council race.

But Schlehuber's latest endeavor has had him touring the country with Heartbeat, a global, youth-music project dedicated to conflict resolution between Israelis and Palestinians. The group was founded in 2007 by Aaron Schneyer, a fellow activist and close friend that Schlehuber met while working toward a Master of Arts degree in international peace and conflict resolution at American University. Schlehuber is a co-manager on what is now Heartbeat's fourth U.S. tour, which made a stop March 14 at Rockford University.

More than anything, Shlehuber wants to help give youths a voice, in the U.S. and abroad.

"Diversity is something to be celebrated but can also cause conflict between people. It is vital that each person does their best to hear those who are different than themselves and commit to constant compromise in order to find peace and equality."

Sarah Wolf: 815-987-1283; swolf@rrstar.com; @sarahcrieswolf

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